Political Animal opens August 3, 2022 at TAG Gallery, 5458 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036. TAG is open 1pm-7pm, Wed-Sun
Art can be a powerful tool for change. I believe it is the responsibility of the artist to bear witness to injustice and to hold a mirror to and shape reality. Art can play a positive role in society by engaging the public and opening dialogue. My art enters the public domain through the use of prints, billboards and murals to educate the public and to create debate and awareness about important issues concerning the future of our planet. A lot of my work involves printmaking, which has a long history of being tied to political movements, social justice movements and revolutions. My work is a continuation of this tradition as I use my work to explore such themes as human rights, animal rights, climate change, war and environmental issues.
About the Artist: Karen Fiorito is an activist, artist and curator residing in California. Her artwork has been exhibited internationally and featured in major publications such as Art in America, Hyperallergic, Art Forum and ArtNews and featured in such books as American Women Artists in Wartime, Paper Politics: Socially Engaged Printmaking Today and The Design of Dissent. Fiorito has received grants from the Flagstaff City Council, the Puffin Foundation, the Pollination Project, A Well Fed World and LUSH Cosmetics for her public art projects.
One of her current public billboard projects, “Got Drought?” has been touring internationally since 2015. She is perhaps most noted for her controversial ‘Trumpocalypse’ billboard in downtown Phoenix (2017) which gained international media attention. She is the curator of many art exhibitions, including "Evolution/Revolution: The Interconnectedness of All Beings" (2011), and "Indivisible: United We Stand, Divided We Fall" (2020).
Her work is in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Center for the Study of Political Graphics and Self Help Graphics. She holds a M.F.A. from Arizona State University and a B.F.A. from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She is a member of the California Printmaking Society, the Center for Contemporary Printmaking and is the President of the Los Angeles Printmaking Society.
About the Gallery: TAG is a fine art gallery located on Museum Row in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1993, the gallery represents award-winning contemporary Southern California artists working in all mediums and styles.